Sarajevo, 30 August (AKI) - A Bosnian Muslim newspaper on Tuesday joined a chorus of mostly Serbian news reports on the existence of training camps for Islamic terrorists, accusing the international community of closing its eyes in front of this danger. The weekly Slobodna Bosna (Free Bosnia), whose editor is Senad Avdic, a moderate Muslim, in its latest issue described in detail how and where the alleged terrorist camps operate in Bosnia. The paper criticised the commander of the international forces in Bosnia (Eufor) David Leaky for his recent statement that he had no knowledge of the existence of such camps.

In the article titled “The Commander of Eufor in Bosnia David Leaky is Playing Dumb”, the paper said that there was no point in presenting the facts to the “uninformed general”. “Is he (Leaky) really uninformed, which is hard to believe, or is he conscientiously deceiving the local public, like most Western politicians who serve in Bosnia and advocate the thesis that the best thing for world security is that all terrorists be concentrated in one place, in Bosnia, where they can be kept under control”, the paper asked.

The paper quoted former UN representative in Bosnia, Jacques Klein, as having confirmed to the Security Council that Islamic terrorists were active in Bosnia, but added that it was good they were concentrated in one place, because “the rest of the world would be safe”.

Similar reports in Bosnian media have been carried in the past mostly by Serbian newspapers and Slobodna Bosna is the first Muslim paper to tackle the subject.

The paper said that terrorist training camps had been situated near the Jablanica and Boracko Lakes in Herzegovina, but were later moved to other locations.

“At the beginning of August this year the Active Islamic Youth organized a big camp between Bihac and Bosanska Krupa, in the location of Grmusa”, the paper said.

According to Slobodna Bosna, the training was conducted under military tents on the property of Fuad Vukovic, whose father Mustafa was one of the founders of the ruling Muslim Party for Democratic Action.

The paper pointed out that it was impossible for the international soldiers not to have noticed the big tents, the presence of large groups of people and automobile plates from various European countries where they came from.

Slobodna Bosna said that apart from Active Islamic Youth, the Wahabi Islamic movement has been gathering strength in Bosnia under the instructions of mujahedin from Arabic countries, who have remained in Bosnia following 1992-1995 civil war.

The Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported last week that a Wahabi cell was also operating in eastern Bosnian village of Gornja Maoca and was plotting terrorist attacks in Italy. The Wahabi school of thought is the strictest of Sunni Islam and is advocated by Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

A group of terrorists who are planning attacks on the US are currently stationed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Cybercast News Service (CNS) reports. The agency has released video footage showing terrorists training at what appears to be a sports complex and practicing kidnapping hostages. Experts believe that this is a training camp. Terrorism expert Ivan Coleman told Cybercast News that most of the main camps that were used in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war have been closed, but that new ones have sprung up under the guise of youth camps. Coleman claims that these camps are led by older Muslim extremists with military experience.
“They take young people there into the hills and begin their jihad training. Even if it sounds crazy, they believe that it is hard to find and uncover such camps.” Coleman said. He stated that instead of forming a permanent camp, terrorists aim to establish a network of cells, which fact “appeals to many young Bosnians”.
Hudson Institute researcher Christopher Brown claims that many of the camps are very mobile. “The cells of Al-Qaeda in Bosnia were formed in the 1990s by Laden’s top aide, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
CNS claims that terrorists who have served their term of imprisonment and have been set free go to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they have access to jihad training camps, weapons, and illegal Islamist “charity funds”.
Terrorist Karim Said Atmani went to Bosnia after he was released from a French prison, Coleman stated. Atmani is a Moroccan linked to the Islamist organization GIA, which is responsible for hijacking and setting explosives at the subway in France.
Another terrorist, who found a safe refuge in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is Abu el-Maali. He participated in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. So did Atmani. France accused el-Maali of an attempt at smuggling explosives in 1998 intended for an Egyptian terrorist group, which aimed to destroy the US military objects in Germany. He was also convicted of controlling terrorist cells in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Cambridge University researcher Marko Attila Hoare said that these stories are being blown out of proportion.
“No Bosnian Muslims have been involved in terrorist acts. Al Qaeda tried but failed in turning Bosnia into a jihad base,” Hoare said. He added, “The light version of Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not appropriate for Islamists”.
CNS announces that the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, a charity foundation that is considered by the USA to support terrorist organizations, has closed its offices in Bosnia, but later it resumed its activities there under another name, Vazir. The new organization was registered as “an association for sports, culture and education”.
CNS said it received the video footage from Gregory Copley, President of the International Strategic Studies Association. Copley stated that the video was made in the fall of 2004 and was shown for the first time in May 2005 at a meeting of army representatives during the Global Strategic Forum in Washington in 2005.